On My Own
by MakinTheMostOfLife
Summary: Hornet goes missing and is found three months later, badly hurt and unconscious. Hornet/Prosper. Rated K for a bit of violence at the beginning. God, I cannot stop writing! Chapter 7 up...ALREADY!
1. Prologue One

The morning sun shone brightly over Venice, highlighting the water and bouncing off golden towers.

Hornet skipped along the edge of the canal, avoiding wet patches on the stones. She didn't realise that someone was shadowing her from behind; she couldn't have because he was so inconspicuous, even Victor and Scipio would marvel at his handiwork. Plus, she was hidden deep into her own thoughts.

As she turned into an alleyway, Prosper was the main thing on her mind.

Last night they had stayed up late, sitting on her bed, talking about anything that came to mind. It had been fun, something that good friends do. But afterwards, he had done something which made her feel confused about how she felt.

Prosper had said goodnight, but than he had leant over and gently kissed her on the cheek, leaving the room bright red. Hornet could remember her heart fluttering like a trapped butterfly, the shock and the happiness she felt mixing together to make some new emotion.

Was she in love?

But before she had long to ponder on this, a hand was carefully slid over her mouth, and another grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. Hornet tried to struggle, but a heavy boot was slammed onto her feet, and she couldn't move any part of her body. No one was there; no one could see what was happening!

Hornet was dragged off down the alley, where a large group of men were stood, all with stubble and messy hair, dirty clothes which stank. She received a hefty punch on the side of her head and everything went black.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Prosper entered the kitchen, dragged out a chair from the table, sat down and yawned widely. Ida raised her eyebrows.

"What sort of time do you call this?" She tutted, pulling up her sleeve and showing him her watch. Prosper squinted at it, the little numbers blurring before his tired eyes.

"Noon…?" He muttered. Damn! He looked around the kitchen, but it was empty apart from Ida, who immediately started to cook Sizzling sounds and the smell of bacon wafted through the kitchen. "Where is everyone?"

"Bo's out playing with Victor and Scipio, Riccio, last I heard of him, is pressed against the cake shop and Mosca's fiddling with his boat." She answered, turning around to look at him.

"What about Hornet?" He mumbled; sleep still fogging up his brain. "Where's she?"

"Fancy you noticing Hornet's not here!" Ida smiled as he blushed. "She went to the book shop. Talking about new stories for Bo, or something like that."

"Figures," Prosper smirked. "So tomorrow morning, when she finally gets back…"

Ida pretended to smack his arm. "At least she has better things to do than stay in bed until noon!"

"I was tired!" Prosper protested, sleepily. He gave a huge yawn, trying to hide it with a cough. Ida wasn't fooled.

"Bed!" She ordered sharply. "Now! I'll get Lucia to wake you up when its dinner."

"But-!" Prosper tried to protest, but went silent as Ida pointed to the staircase with the frying pan full of bacon. "Fine!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Prop?" Bo whispered, shaking his sleeping brother slightly. "Prop?" He scowled as he got no reply, and whacked him across the chest. Prosper sat bolt upright.

"Ow, Bo!" He gasped, rubbing his chest slightly. "What is it? Is it time for dinner?"

"Its half one in the morning and Hornet isn't in her bed!" Bo told him, wide eyed with worry.

"She'll be downstairs reading," Prosper shook him off. "Goodnight, Bo."

"No, Prop, you don't understand, she never came back from the shop!" Bo cried desperately, tugging his brother's hand.

Prosper rolled over, and gave him a strange look, trying to read his face. "Really?"

"Really!" Bo whimpered. "Where is she?"

"I – I don't know," Prosper bit his lip. "Have you looked everywhere?"

Bo gave a nod.

"Even the dark room?" Another nod. "Well then…we had better tell Ida…What did you want her for anyway?"

"Nightmare," Bo said shortly.

"Oh, ok," Prosper climbed out of bed and propelled his brother to the door with an arm around his shoulder. "Come on,"

Ida was snoring loudly, when Prosper hesitantly entered with Bo trailing behind. She immediately sat up and switched the lamp on when the door to the bedroom creaked loudly.

She glanced between Prosper's apologetic face and Bo's worried one. "What is it?"

"Hornet…" Bo trailed off as a wave of sobs threatened him. He buried his face in Prosper's waist and sniffed loudly.

"Has she come back from the book shop?" Ida asked, looking suddenly worried. Prosper shook his head.

"Bo can't find her anywhere!" He explained to her. She swung her legs out of bed and ran past them, shouting: "Wake the others!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


	2. Prologue Two

Hello! Just some random gabble before you read this part: Hello! just some random gabble before you read this part: Hello! Just some random gabble before you read this part: Hello...ok I'll stop now...

**Disclaimer: I do not own Thief Lord or any of the characters in it. No thingy-ma-bob intended (sorry forgot the word, it'll come back to me in an hour or so...)**

"And now, more on the story of Caterina, the young girl who went missing three months ago…" Prosper mentally blocked out the television as the news reader began to recap Hornet's disappearance. Three months had passed, but still she hadn't been found. The police had no idea what to do, or where to look. The city had been searched again and again, with nothing.

Bo wandered into the room, and Prosper quickly jumped up and switched the TV off. "Bo!" He gasped.

"Are you still watching that stuff?" Bo asked him miserably, indicating the blank TV screen with his finger.

"I…I wanted to know if…if they'd found her, but – but they haven't," Prosper avoided his brother's innocent gaze. He felt Bo slip his fingers into his hand.

"They will find Hornet, won't they?" He asked, pleadingly as if his brother could make all his wishes come true. He gave Prosper's hand a tug. "Won't they Prop?"

Prosper didn't answer. He just gazed out of the window. Suddenly he said: "Lets go outside." He looked down at Bo, and smiled half heartedly. "And we'll feed the pigeons!"

Bo wrinkled up his nose. "We did that yesterday," he complained. "Me and Riccio tried and the pigeons dive bombed and nicked Riccio's hat." He gave a little giggle. "And Riccio said some very rude words and a lady whacked him with her handbag because he said them while I was there!"

Prosper laughed. "Well, today we'll feed the pigeons and I won't wear a hat!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

It was only a ploy, to get Bo out of the house. Plus it took they little boy's mind off Hornet's disappearance, thought Prosper, sadly watching his little brother chase a few pigeons around an empty alleyway. Hornet…

He was tugged out of his thoughts as a large raindrop hit his cheek and burst across his face. Bo was already by his side, pushing his head under Prosper's arm so not to get his angel curls wet.

"C'mon!" Prosper yelled over the heavy splashing of the rain. The two brothers ran through the maze of alleys, finally sheltering under a over hanging roof. Prosper peered out at the rain. "It's pretty fast, Bo…Bo?"

"Prosper!" Bo's shout came from the other end of the alley. Prosper jogged over to him, expecting him to be holding a stray cat or wounded pigeon. "Look!"

Spread out, unconscious, with a bruised face, tattered clothing and filthy, messy hair was…Hornet!

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ida peered worriedly over the doctor's shoulder, gazing at Hornet, who laid, her eyes closed and her face pale in a clean, white bed.

Prosper had carried her all the way back to the Casa Spavento, with Bo running ahead to tell everybody that Hornet had been found. Mosca and Riccio had run from their warehouse when Scipio told them, and were just in time to meet Prosper as he entered the house. Since then a doctor had been called and Hornet had been intently examined, all the time remaining unconscious.

The doctor took his stethoscope away from Hornet's chest and checked her pulse at the wrist. Then he stood up straight and faced his audience: Ida, Victor, Prosper, Bo, Scipio, Mosca and Riccio. And Bo's cat.

"Well, she's breathing," He said lamely.

"Never!" Ida fished through her pockets trying to find her cigarettes.

"Well, I don't think she's in a fit state to be moved yet – she is very weak and I think she needs to stay put. Here," He added as if to clarify.

"'She' has a name you know," Prosper told the doctor in a whisper. It was so quiet, he might as well have been talking to himself, but he was too bust gazing at Hornet to notice no one had taken any notice. She had been changed from her tattered outfit into a nightshirt, and her hair had been brushed from her face. It lay splayed out on the pillow. She looked beautiful, even with her face so pale and her eyes closed.

"Well, you might want to try different ways of waking her up," He turned to the children. "You could all try something different!"

"Why are you making this sound like game?" Prosper asked, feeling suddenly angry. This doctor didn't have any idea what he was doing! "Hornet isn't going to wake up with us pretending that its all for fun!" He felt red hot tears sting his eyes and brushed them away angrily.

"Well, in my experience, it helps a lot with younger children," The doctor leaned down and smiled at Bo, who immediately hid behind Prosper.

"We're not little kids!" Prosper put his arm protectively around his little brother's shoulder.

"Prosper…" Scipio muttered warningly.

"Shut up, Scip!" Prosper rounded on him. "Why are you on his side? You're just a stupid adult!"

"Prosper!" Ida said, appalled at his behaviour.

"C'mon, Prop…" Victor tried to put his hands on Prosper's shoulders but he shook him off.

"Just leave me alone!" He yelled, running out of the door. "All of you!"

Everyone turned to look at the slowly shutting door. Only Riccio spoke.

"He was really close to Hornet, wasn't he?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Prosper, are you in here?" Ida poked her head around the door to the living room and smiled sadly as she saw Prosper sat on the sofa, his head in his hands and his knees digging into his chest. "Are you alright?"

Prosper shook his head, not moving any other part of his body. Ida walked over and sat down beside him, putting a hand on his back. He didn't move, or try to push her off.

"It's ok to upset, you know," She told him, **stroking** his hair.

Prosper looked up at her, his face snail trailed with tears. "I know, it's just…I dunno, I don't feel right," He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I feel empty, like there's something missing…"

"…or you're missing something," Ida pulled him closer. "Or someone,"

Prosper nodded, and sniffed loudly. "Before she…disappeared I did something, and I'm not sure whether should have…" he looked guiltily up at Ida.

"You didn't start stealing again, did you?" Ida looked horrified.

"What? No!" Prosper half laughed and gave Ida a nudge in the ribs. "No…I sort of kissed Hornet…"

Ida smiled, and put a hand to her cheek. "Aw, that's so sweet, your first kiss!"

Prosper looked sheepish. "It wasn't on the lips, you know,"

"Oh, well…It's still adorable," Ida hugged him. "Look, we're going to try and do what the doctor says, and try different ways of waking Caterina up, ok?"

Prosper shrugged. "I s'pose," He muttered.

"Good, Bo's gone up already."


	3. Bo

**Disclaimer: I do not own Thief Lord or any of it's characters!**

**Please comment!**

"Hornet?" Bo slid through the small gap he had made between the door and the wall, clutching his cat to his chest. He walked slowly over to Hornet's bed. "look, Hornet, Blacky has really grown! See?"

He placed Blacky on the pillow. The cat immediately buried itself in Hornet's long hair.

"Hornet? You have to open your eyes to see Blacky," Bo told her. "Like this!" He demonstrated squeezing his eyes tightly shut and then opening them suddenly and looking around as though he had only just seen everything around him. "Got it? Now you do it!"

Hornet remained still, her eyes closed. Bo scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"I know!" He jumped up and ran to the bookcase which stood at the other end of the room. "I'll read to you! It's called the 'Lion, the Witch and the War-dro-be'" Bo sounded the last bit out.

He turned to the first page of the book and stared horrified at the page. "Hornet, its too hard! I can't read it!" He put the book on her stomach. "You read it! Please? Please, Hornet, please read to me!"

Still nothing but silence.

"I had a nightmare last night," Bo said suddenly. "It wasn't very nice. It was about me and Prosper and Aunt Esther had hold of us and she lifted us up really high and threw us in the canal!" He sat down on the bed, half talking to Hornet and half talking to himself. "And I managed to get out of the canal, but I couldn't find Prosper anywhere! And then I woke up, but you weren't here to tell me it would be alright. So, I started to think about what might happen after I woke up…And I thought the mermaid would find Prosper – you know the one from the roundabout? – Obviously the mermaid, not Prosper! Ha, that'd be funny if Prop was on the roundabout! So, the mermaid brought Prosper up and then when we were walking home we found you in the bookshop, and you'd been there the whole time!" He looked sadly down at Hornet. "Where were you?" He asked softly.

There was no reply and Bo sighed heavily. "I'll see you later Hornet," He said, scooping up Blacky and leaving. "Oh, but I think Prop fancies you…He was crying earlier!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Bo had come down in tears, which made Prosper even more against the whole idea of trying to do different things to wake Hornet up; he didn't want anyone getting hurt, especially Bo.

He'd gone and hugged Bo, and his little brother had told him what he'd done. Prosper couldn't help think how sweet what Bo had done was. Mosca announced he was going next and received a scolding from Victor for making it sound like a game again. This made Prosper feel guilty, but he waved off Mosca and went to sit with Bo, who was trying to feed raisins to Blacky.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


	4. Mosca

**I don't really know Mosca's charater properly, so he's a bit random really. The chapters are gonna get a bit shorter now but they'll be long again soon!**

**Disclaimer: I do no own Thief Lord or any of its characters blah-de-blah-de-blah!**

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"Hey Hornet," Mosca slammed the door behind him, accidentally. "Oops! Sorry, Hornet, hope you don't have a headache!" He laughed at his joke. His laughter quickly died away when there was no reply. "Ah, forgot about that part," He rubbed his nose. "One sided conversation…"

He glanced around for inspiration and saw a small painting of a boat on the wall. "So, Scipio bought us a new boat," He said conversationally. "It's red, with a big blue stripe on the front and it goes so fast you wouldn't believe! We should all go out in it sometime, it's big enough for all of us! Oh, but you don't like boats, do you?"

Silence.

"So, what's been going on with you?" Mosca perched on the edge of the bed. He put on a high, twittery voice. "Oh not much, Mosca, just ran away for three months and am now nearly dead." He switched back to his normal voice. "That sound interesting, Hornet, I've been rewiring the engine in my new boat…Yeah this isn't working is it?"

He still couldn't think of anything to say. Then: "Bo was really upset that you didn't wake up for him. He came down crying. And Prospers even worse; he yelled at the doctor…but you probably heard that, you were in the room. Ida went and talked to him, but he doesn't want to do this – you know try and wake you up in different ways – he thinks we're trying to make it like a game." He smiled slightly as he got up. "You know, I reckon he fancies you!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Bo ran up to Mosca as he came down the stairs, his eyes wide with hope. But Mosca shook his head and Bo came back to the sofa looking like he'd just fished a boot out of a canal instead of a fish **(Not quite sure why I used that as a simile!). **

"I dunno what is going to wake her up you know," Mosca shrugged. "But there as to be something…Or someone…"

Everyone tuned to look at Prosper. "What? I'm not going up there and playing your little game. It's too…painful,"

"Painful? Why?" Ida asked.

"Well because Bo was upset she didn't wake up when he went up and I'm sure Mosca is too, because I know I would be!" Prosper explained, one arm around his brother's shoulder and the other brushing back his hair from his face.

Riccio shrugged. "Whatever." He jumped onto the bottom step. "If I wake her up, do I get cakes?"

"Riccio!" Victor exclaimed.

"What? I like cakes!" The boy grinned before bounding off upstairs.

"Here we go again…" muttered Prosper and settled back into the sofa with Bo.


	5. Riccio

**Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Just to say, sorry if there's any typos, but my spell checker is really stupid and I will not use it! Oh and this part is dedicated to ChildOfDarkness15, because she was the first to reply to this fic and my other one and Riccio is her fave character :D !**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Thief Lord or any of its characters and all that jazz…**

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Hi Hornet, please wake up and then I can get some cakes!" Riccio bounced into the room. He misjudged his next jump and fell with a thud onto his butt. "Ouch!"

He peered over the bottom of the bed from the floor. Hornet hadn't moved.

"Ah." He muttered to himself. To Hornet he said: "I thought that might wake you up, because you're reeeealy nice, and you won't let me go without cakes, will you?"

Nothing.

"Wow, Hornet, you're mean!" Riccio stood up and folded his arms. "Really mean! Really really really – ok, this isn't working."

He blew out his cheeks. "So, I guess you might want to now what we've been up to since you…left for a period of time," Riccio scratched his nose. "Well, we've mainly been looking for you; Bo's not been doing much, we keep getting him to go feed the pigeons to take his mind off…things. One of them blasted pigeons nicked my hat!" Riccio patted the top of his head as if to male sure there was no hat there. "And me and Mosca have been in our warehouse doing stuff. Scup and Victor got one of those really cool new computers and they printed big pictures of you and put them all over Venice! You're famous Hornet!" He laughed and glanced around the room.

Like Mosca, he noticed the picture of the boat and told Hornet about it, describing it with enthusiasm. Then he saw the cork board above the bed. It was full of pictures of Hornet and her friends. The one in the centre, standing out among all the others, was one of Hornet and Prosper, their heads together, grinning at the camera. They were obviously in a boat because they were sat down and wind was pushing their hair back. Prosper had his arm around Hornet's shoulders, and although the camera didn't show it, Hornet had hers around his waist, very picturesque.

Riccio could remember Bo trying to take that picture many times before Victor and Ida helped him by holding the camera still. That had been just before Hornet had disappeared – the boat was Mosca's old one.

"Well that's it really," Riccio fiddled with his ear lobe, thinking of something to say. Then he looked up at the picture again. "Oh, but I didn't tell you about Prop, did I? He's been…quiet, actually. More quiet than usual, I mean. He really took your disappearance badly," Riccio sat down on the bed like Mosca had done before him. "I suppose you heard his little outburst earlier? Unless you can't hear…Well, you better be able to hear, or all this is a waste of time!" He laughed.

He got up and walked to the door. "I have to go now, Hornet, they'll be wondering why I've taken so long," Riccio stopped, one hand on the doorknob. "But, one last thing you oughta know…I think Prop fancies you…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Sorry, Bo," Riccio shook his head as Bo's angel curls bobbed over the back of the sofa. "Its like she's already dead – hey!"

Prosper had thrown a cushion at him, angrily. "Don't say that!" He growled. "She isn't dead and she isn't going to die!" He hugged Bo, who had pulled a very distraught face at Riccio's comment.

"Well, maybe she won't if _you_ went up and talked to her, then!" Riccio retorted before Ida could stop him.

"Enough!" She said loudly, standing between the sofa and Riccio. "Now, who's going to try next?"

Prosper sank back into the couch, scowling.

"I'll go," Scipio ventured.

"Good," Ida said, nodding in agreement. "Thank you, Scipio,"


	6. Scipio

**Dude it's a hippy flower! Sorry, been looking for an excuse to say hat for ages!**

**When it says Hornet is fourteen, it's one or two years after the roundabout incident, so that's about right, isn't it? If its not tell me and I'll change it!**

**Disclaimer: The usual, do not own anything but my computer and all that…**

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You wouldn't believe how many cases I've had Hornet!" Scipio gushed as he entered the room. "They were mainly for missing purses and stuff like that – you know, careless tourists – but I had a few looking for pets and one even for this little girl," Scipio's chest swelled with pride. He wasn't going to be soppy, because he knew that wasn't going to wake Hornet up, any more than crying was. "So this girl, right she's about, ooh, fourteen and her name is Caterina, but her friends call her Hornet."

He looked down at the girl and felt a sharp wave of pity: where had she been and how had she got all those injuries? While Prosper had been downstairs with Ida, the doctor had announced that Hornet had a broken arm and several bruised areas on her body.

"Yes, that's right," Scip returned to his arrogant tone of voice. "I, Scipio Fortunato, was hired to find you, and let me tell you, it wasn't easy. Not that I actually found you…I spent a good deal of time on your case even if it was Bo and Prop who found you. Ah, Prop…"

He suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Speaking of Prosper, the others and I have a theory…" He smirked slightly, noticing the picture on the corkboard, highlighting the one of Prosper and Hornet together. "Well, we reckon he has a…" He stopped. "I bet they've all already told you, haven't they? Oh well, we reckon he has a crush on you,"

"Really?" Scipio almost jumped out of his skin as a female voice spoke. He whirled around to see Ida leant against the door frame, smiling slightly.

"Ida!" He gasped, dramatically clutching his chest. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"All right, Drama Lord," She smirked, walking into the room and glancing down at Hornet, a deep look of pity etched in her face. "But, the way I see it, they both fancy each other,"

"What? Oh right, Hornet and Prop…" Scipio shook his head as if to clear it, and his mane of hair flew outwards. "Really?" He asked, looking thoughtful.

"Yes," Ida poked him in the ribs then pushed him lightly towards the door. This was a bit harder then she had imagined because he was so much taller than her. "My turn!"

"Prop'll kill you if he hears you say that," Scipio warned as he sauntered out of the door. 

Ida smiled. "I'm sure,"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"What do you do when you're in a hairbrush?" Bo asked thoughtfully, breaking through the silence that had settled in the room since Scipio had come back down and announced that nothing had changed.

"Why would you be in a hairbrush?" Prosper wrinkled up his nose. He glanced at Scipio, who shrugged, looking just as confused.

"That's what the doctor said Hornet was in," Bo announced. "A hairbrush-a or something like that." 

Prosper laughed. "He said a coma Bo, not a hairbrush!" 

"They're the same thing!" Bo protested defensively. 

"Not quite," Scipio laughed gently, and patted Bo's head.

Mosca piped up: "When you're in a coma, you can't move your body: you can't open your eyes, talk, move around, anything, but you can think, and after a while you usually wake up, sometimes by will power and sometimes because someone or something reminds you of something…"

"How do you know that?" Riccio asked, amazed.

"Read it somewhere," Mosca shrugged. "I dunno,"

"Where's Ida?" Bo asked, looking around the living room, before climbing over the back of the sofa and looking out the door. Prosper grabbed him and pulled him back.

"With Hornet," He answered and the silence descended once more. 


	7. Ida

Disclaimer: Hornet, say the disclaimer for me

**Disclaimer: Hornet, say the disclaimer for me!**

**Hornet: In Coma**

**Me: Oh yeah, woops! Prop!**

**Prosper: What?**

**Me: Look, I know you're moping over your girlfriend being a bit half-dead, but can you please do the disclaimer for me?**

**Prosper: No, I'm tired, Bo'll do it!**

**Bo: Yay! Ezzi does not own any of us or our story because that is written by Cornelia Funke, but she does own this story and we are all angry with her for making Hornet be in a Hairbrush!**

**Me: Right…Well, then…**

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I'm not going to bribe you into waking up Hornet, or annoy you so much you have to stop me," Ida carefully picked her words as she dragged a chair from the landing and pulled it into the room with a scraping noise. "I'm going to tell you not why we want you to wake up, but why we need you to wake up: for starters, Prosper's practically going into denial; you probably heard his little shouting number. He really cares about you; its easy to see, one he carried you all the way from that alleyway almost two miles away, and two, he was in tears when the doctor told us what was wrong." Ida looked down at Hornet's bandaged arm. "Mosca and Riccio ran all the way from their warehouse just to see if you were all right. Scipio and Victor cut an important case which could have ended up in a lot of money to come for you and Bo…well, he's just plain upset."

She thought for a moment, before speaking again. "Don't feel like I'm trying to make you feel guilty, I just thought you should know these things: I suppose I want you to feel important, and just because you've been away for a bit doesn't mean we've all changed for good. We still love you Hornet…Some more than others," she added, thinking of Prosper.

Hornet didn't move, but Ida felt like she'd said enough. "The doctor is coming back in an hour," She informed Hornet briskly, as though she was telling her to get up to go to school. She stood up and fished in her pockets for a cigarette, leaving the room as she did so. "Good day, Caterina."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Well, that everyone," Scipio announced as Ida walked into the room, shaking her head. "Except Victor, but he's unable to come and he isn't sure what he would say. And Prop," He added, noticing Prosper slide into the sofa.

"Maybe you should go up, Prop," Riccio suggested hesitantly. "You might be able to-"

"I'm not going, I've already told you!" Prosper snapped. Riccio flinced back and Prosper sighed. "Look, I'm soryy, Im just confused."

"About what?" Mosca prompted.

Prosper shrugged. "Feelings and stuff,"

"Beastly things, feelings, aren't they?" Ida agreed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Sometimes…" Prosper's eyes clouded over as if lost in a memory. "But sometimes, they're not,"

Ida nodded and Scipio said: "Think about it Prop, you might change your mind,"

"I doubt it," Prosper shook his head.


	8. Prosper

I nearly cried when I wrote this chapter, which shows how sad I am, but oh well

**I nearly cried when I wrote this chapter, which shows how sad I am, but oh well! And the end bit I had the idea for when I was in the bathroom of a Turkish restaurant. Which really sums me up: RANDOM!!**

**Oh, and this should wipe that silly smirk off your face causeofmayhem! Wow, that's what it feels like being mean…mwahahahahahahahahahaha!**

**Disclaimer: You know, I know, so why bother?**

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Prosper took a deep breath before he opened the door. He was a bit nervous – but then, after he had decided what he was about to do, who wouldn't be? He was still a bit unsure what he was going to say; well, he'd just have to wing it.

The room was quite dark. The afternoon sun had almost set, leaving shadows drifting lazily across the wall and the bed…and Hornet.

Prosper nearly gasped when he saw her; the last time he had laid eyes on her had been this morning and then she had still been covered in muck. But now her face was clean and Prosper could clearly see all the cuts and bruises running all over her head from her forehead to her neck.

He took another deep breath. "Hi, Hornet," He said, trying to sound casual but aware that his heart was thumping loudly and his palms had become sweaty. "I…I know I said I wouldn't do this, but I am. I haven't told the others, so don't think I'm up here because they made me – I'm here because I want to be."

The chair Ida had moved was still at the foot of the bed, and he sat down in it, chewing his bottom lip nervously. "I just want you to know, that I really missed you Hornet, when you were gone. I never stopped thinking about you…I couldn't stop thinking about you." Prosper half laughed. "The thing is, Hornet, the night before you disappeared, when we were talking about whatever came into our heads, I think something weird happened…I think I fell in love with you…"

Prosper broke off, looking down at Hornet. It might have been his imagination, but he was sure she had moved slightly. "And then, I realised, that I didn't fall in love with you then – I fell in love with you when we first met; way back when Bo and me were running from Esther and Scip found us and took us back to the Stella and I saw you…And I didn't realise it till now – it took you to practically die for me to realise that, Hornet, I love you…"

He suddenly realised he was crying and hastily wiped the tears from his face. Hornet didn't move or reply. Prosper noticed her hand above the covers and took it in his, closing his eyes and trying to think what to say next.

"So, that's basically it," Prosper concluded, opening his eyes and letting go of Hornet's hand. "I…I'll see you later, when you wake up. Because you are going to wake up Hornet, because I have complete faith that you will. Don't leave me on my own, please…" And without even thinking, he leant forward and gently pressed his lips onto her forehead.

When he pulled back, he looked down, expecting Hornet to wake up of move or something, but she remained still.

"Right…well…" Prosper pushed his hair out of his face. "I…Just wake up Hornet, please!" The tears were leaking down his face again, but he didn't try to stop them. He just ran out of the door, thudding down the stairs, flying past Ida, who was talking to Scipio near the bottom of the stairs. He ran out of the door, not bothering to grab his coat as he ran into the chilly evening air,

"Well," Ida announced as Mosca, Riccio and Bo poked their heads out of the living room. "That was unexpected!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The book store was almost empty, but that suited Prosper better. He didn't want to attract the attention of sympathetic ladies that thought he was crying because he had lost his mum. Weaving through all the bookshelves, he finally found Hornet's favourite spot: A small corner of fictional books with a heap of bean bags and a colourful rug in the centre.

Prosper sat down heavily on the pile of beanbags, burying his face in his hands. His thoughts were on fire, his emotions mixing up every part of his head. He felt like a fool.

I've been living in a fantasy world, he thought angrily to himself, like Sleeping beauty or Snow White, where the prince comes and tells the girl he loves her and she magically wakes up…and then it brought me straight back to gritty reality…If none of us can wake her up then no one can…She's going to-

"Prop?" Mosca's head poked around the F-G shelf. Prosper jumped up in surprise, shaking his thoughts and jolting him back to reality. "There you are! We've been looking everywhere!"

"We?" Prosper frowned, but his question was soon answered as Riccio and Ida appeared next to Mosca. "You shouldn't have bothered…" He mumbled.

"What on Earth are you talking about, Prosper?" Ida shook her head. "Why are you even here? You just go running out of the house in tears and don't expect us to come look for you?"

Prosper shrugged. "I…I went and talked to Hornet…"

Ida's face immediately softened. "Oh, Prosper…"

Prosper shook his head. "I don't know who I was kidding…Hornet isn't going to wake up, she's going to die. It's obvious now, none of us could wake her up so who is?"

"No, Prosper she isn't going to die…" Ida said soothingly, but her efforts to comfort the boy were in vain.

"She is, and you know it!" Prosper gasped, before running past them all.

"Where's he going?" Ida asked, pressing her hand to her forehead.

Riccio turned in time to see Prosper slip through a door. "Boy's loos…"

"Oh dear…" Ida muttered.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Prop, please…" Mosca pleaded through the locked door of the cubicle. Prosper ignored him. "C'mon, Prosper, just come out!"

"No!" Prosper growled back, tears streaking down his face. "There is only one person in the world who can make me come out, so don't even bother try, ok?"

"Who?" Riccio called through. Mosca gave him a look which clearly read 'what-do-you-think?' "Oh…"

He heard the bathroom door open and close and assumed that Riccio and Mosca had left; good.

Prosper shook his head, and sat down on the toilet seat, burying his head in his hands and trying to unjumble his thoughts from his emotions. He'd been locked in the cubicle for almost an hour, arguing with Mosca and Riccio almost the whole time. It just wasn't fair, he realised, he'd lost Bo so many times and had always managed to find him. Why wasn't it the same with Hornet?

A sudden knock on the door of the cubicle jolted him from his thoughts.

"For the last time, I'm not coming out!" He yelled, his voice a mixture of annoyance, sorrow and anger.

But it wasn't a male voice which called his name gently through the door. "Prosper…?"

**Durn durn duuuuuurn! Lol, back to looooooong chapters, eh? **


	9. Hornet

This is probably my fave chapter

**This is probably my fave chapter! Woo! Hyperness…Oh, and sorry the beginning bit is a bit rushed…Bit bit…And it is very cheesey...sorry...again...I'm gonna shut up now...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it or owt…**

"Hornet?" Bo crept into the room. "I've been a naughty boy…I listened at the door when Prosper was in here, but I ran downstairs really quick so he wouldn't catch me…Does that mean the big winged lions will come and get me for being bad?"

Silence.

"Oh yeah, you can't answer. Oops!" Bo put a hand to his mouth and giggled. Then he became deadly serious. "Prosper ran off and Riccio and Mosca and Ida are out looking for him. He looked really upset; I think he was crying; only I couldn't see because he was running really really fast! Scipio's downstairs and I'm not supposed to be talking to you up here, because…I dunno why actually, I've just been told I can't…That's unfair!" Bo folded his arms, his face a picture of annoyance. "So, yeah, they're looking for Prop now and I'm really worried. Do you know why he's upset? I think it's because he hoped you'd wake up…You know I said I think he fancied you? Well I was wrong…"

The little boy walked p to the bed and looked down at Hornet's face taking in the cuts and bruises. "He loves you," He whispered, like it was a great secret no one should know. "He really loves you." Bo looked up at the pictures on the cork board.

"I know," Bo gasped and looked back at Hornet. Her eyes were open, and she was smiling so much Bo thought her face might split.

"HORNET!" He yelled at the very top of his small lungs. Hornet's smile grew (if possible) even wider, and she held out her arms. He bounced into them, and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Bo," Hornet whispered into his ear. He giggled as her breath tickled his neck.

"You're welcome!" He squealed. "We'd better tell Scipio!" He gasped, straightening up. He tilted his head to one side, looking at Hornet. "Can you walk?"

"I'd better!" Hornet grinned, pushing back the covers and hesitantly putting her feet on the floor. After a few wobbly steps, she smiled at Bo. "Good as new!" She announced.

The little boy clung to her hand as they descended the stairs, but skipped ahead into the living room. Scipio was poring over the table where piles of papers were scattered; probably new cases, Bo guessed.

"Hey Scip!" He said, gleefully, bounding to the sofa where Scip was sat.

"Hey Bo," Scipio didn't look up. "What are you so happy about?"

"I've got a friend!" Bo told him.

"Really?" Scipio looked up at him, frowning. "And…?"

"Her name is…" Bo gave a dramatic pause. "…Hornet!" He grinned.

"Are you pretending that Hornet's awake?" Scipio asked, frowning as he tried to work out what Bo was getting at.

"He doesn't need to pretend," A voice from the doorway said. Scipio looked up, and like Bo, his face split into a huge grin. "Hornet!"

Hornet grinned as he hugged her, but grimaced after a moment. "Ok, ow!"

"Sorry," Scipio released her.

"Do you know where Prosper is?" Hornet asked.

"Typical," Scipio muttered. "Ida rang about half an hour ago: he's at the book store."

"Right, let's go!" Hornet grabbed Bo's hand and they made towards the door.

"Wait!" Scipio dodged around them. "Don't you want to put some clothes on?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The book shop loomed over them. It was a magnificent building, with its share of carvings and such. A long flight of stone stairs led to the entrance.

Inside they found Ida hovering anxiously outside the toilets. She gave a little scream when she saw Hornet.

"Caterina!" She gasped pulling her into a hug. Hornet obliged, shaking her head. Suddenly the door to the boy's toilets swung open.

"He won't come out- Hornet!" Riccio cried, his mouth opening wider than his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Thanks!" She replied sarcastically. "I can count on you to be pleased I'm not dead! Aw, come here!" She hugged him, and then Mosca. "Where's Prop? In there?" She gestured to the toilets with her head.

Mosca nodded. "Yeah. See if you can get him to come out."

"I don't think so. Caterina, it's the boy's toilets. The _boys'_ toilets. You aren't going in there!" Ida told her.

"'Course I am!" Hornet protested, and stalked through the door with Bo trotting behind her like a puppy. Ida grabbed his collar just as the door swung closed behind Hornet.

"This is something they need to sort out on their own, Bo," She told him as he gave her a disgruntled look.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Riccio challenged.

"Young love," Scipio shrugged. Mosca and Riccio laughed.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Hornet suddenly felt nervous – who wouldn't when you are trying to persuade the person you love to come out of a cubicle in the opposite sex's toilets? But she soon swallowed her fear as she heard a muffled sob from the only closed cubicle. Hesitantly she approached and knocked on the door.

Immediately an annoyed, and slightly sad sounding voice shouted: "For the last time, I'm not coming out!"

A short, sharp needle of shock pierced Hornet. She hadn't realised how badly Prosper had been affected.

Tearfully, she muttered. "Prosper…?"

There were a few moments of silence, long and dragging, before the door swung open and Hornet laid eyes on Prosper for the first time in three months. He didn't look much different, except his hair was slightly longer, but the thing the caught Hornet's attention was his eyes; they were swimming with tears, though happy or sad she couldn't tell.

"Hi," She muttered lamely, feeling her own tears drip slowly down her cheeks. "I'm…I'm so sorry, Prosper, for everything," Hornet took a deep breath; why was she so emotional? She was never like this before – but then, she didn't know Prosper before. "I've made you cry and shout and hate everyone including yourself, and, to be honest, right now, I would hate me if I were you. So…I don't blame you if you do…Hate me, I mean." She looked up at him, biting her lip anxiously.

"Hornet…." Prosper shook his head, half-laughing. She frowned; whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. "Why on Earth would I hate you?" And without warning or planning, he kissed her, firmly pressing his lips onto hers.

Hornet didn't react; her whole body had gone into shock, alarms ringing shrilly in her ears, 'Prosper is kissing me…'

'PROSPER IS KISSING ME!!' The full impact hit her, as he pulled away, blushing furiously.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Reaction, you know, you being…alive, and all that. We should probably-"

"Shut up, Prop!" Hornet grinned, and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Bo glanced at Ida's watch again. There wasn't much point in him doing that though, because he hadn't learnt to tell the time yet. He tugged Ida's arm.

"Why are they taking so long?" He whined. "Can I go see? Please?" He gave Ida an angelic smile.

Ida rolled her eyes. "Oh…Go on then, but if they're talking or anything, do not interrupt them, ok?"

"What if they're kissing?" Riccio asked, looking through the slightly opened door.

"Riccio!" Ida said, pulling him away. Then she looked curious. "_Are _they kissing?"

Riccio nodded, earnestly. "Yeah!"

Suddenly the door opened, and Hornet and Prosper walked out. Both had faces snail trailed with tears, but were now beaming happily.

"Well," Ida tried to start a conversation, as everyone just grinned at each other. "You know you're going to have to tell the police how you disappeared, Caterina,"

Hornet bit her lip. "It's a long story," She admitted.

Prosper linked his fingers through hers and gave her a warm smile. "We've got time,"

Riccio gagged.

**Only 1 more chapter! Oh no!**


	10. The End

This is Hornet's side of the story, ok

**This is Hornet's side of the story, ok? Well the first part is. Oh and sorry the last part was so cheesey!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, will not, and have not ever owned Thief Lord. Unfortunately.**

Almost three months, she had been gone. Two months of beatings and harassment, from men who were addicted to alcohol and drugs. Two months of in-and-out unconsciousness, with beatings so bad she had been dead to the world for days.

When Hornet woke up, the men had all gone, leaving her in a small flat which stunk of dry alcohol and sweat. There was a single light bulb in hanging from the centre of the ceiling, eerily illuminating the room she was in. There was a large, old sofa plonked in the middle of the room and an ancient TV set but that was just about it. Then Hornet realised she was tied to a chair.

However, after a few moments fumbling with the knot, she discovered it was loose and tugged herself free. Rubbing her wrists which were painfully sore, she hesitantly stood up, hoping the floor boards weren't creaky; the gang could be downstairs.

The door was unlocked, but no sooner had she opened it when one of the gang members appeared in front of it.

"Not so fast, little missy!" He growled, spraying her with speckles of spittle. **(speckles of spittle, speckles of spittle, speckles of…I'll stop now…)**

"Get off me!" She cried through angry tears. The man merely sneered at her, dragging her back over to the chair she had originally been tied to. But before he had managed to pick up the discarded rope, Hornet kicked him hard in the stomach. Letting out a gasp of pain, the man doubled up and Hornet took her chance.

Leaping up she ran round him and through the door in a flash. Hard sunlight hit her in the face and an awful realisation hit her: she was in Venice – but where in Venice she had no idea.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Hornet didn't know how many times she fell while wandering around Venice in a lost confusion. She did know that one of the times she fell she hurt her arm, feeling it _crack_ underneath her.

The pain brought fresh, hot tears to her eyes, but she forced them down, cradling her arm. A sweet smell wafted towards her, and her eyes were drawn to a baker's shop near to where she was stood.

Her stomach twisted into a big ugly knot; she hadn't eaten in days. No money, no food. Even through her tiredness she could work that out.

It seemed like there was only one thing keeping her going: The look on Prosper's face the night before she had disappeared, where they had talked, no problems, just two friends…maybe more than two friends, thinking and just being there.

But even that wouldn't last.

Suddenly recognising were she was, Hornet tried to run and stopped, wincing at the pain that shot up her stiff legs. Maybe she should sleep…sleeping felt good right now.

Silently, she crept into an alley, and helplessly fainted, not knowing she wouldn't wake up for a while…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"And…that's basically it," Hornet concluded. The policeman jotted a few notes onto his pad and flipped back to the cover.

"We will have a full search of Italy for this…'gang' you have described for us," He said, tucking the book into his jacket before leaving with a nod to Ida.

Ida wrapped an arm around Hornets shoulders. "I am so sorry," She whispered.

"For what?" Hornet asked. "You didn't do anything wrong!"

"I know, it's just…we never thought to look in all the places you went to," Ida explained, looking at Prosper for back-up. He nodded.

"So what?" Hornet grinned at the two of them who were sat in the police station with her. Mosca, Riccio and Scipio hovered outside the door. "I'm here now!" She smiled softly at Prosper. "And I couldn't be happier,"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

That night the Casa Spavento was host to a party. Streamers were hung all over the hall, balloons were blown up and Lucia outdid herself with an amazing meal. Music was played and dancing was done, all in favour of Hornet's miraculous recovery. Bo went to everyone at least twice, boasting: "I woke her up!"

As the night grew on, Prosper noticed Hornet slipping out of the large glass doors that led to Ida's garden. Checking everybody was busy with dancing (Ida), playing the music (Scipio) and eating (Riccio), he silently followed her.

Prosper found Hornet by the rose bush, near the bottom of the garden. Ida prided her garden almost as much as her cameras, planting all sorts of exotic plants everywhere. He watched Hornet pluck a rose from the bush; sniff it, slowly peeling away the layers of petals.

"Are you alright?" He asked when he reached her. She gave a start and dropped the stem of the rose.

"Prosper!" Hornet gasped. "Gosh, you gave me a shock!"

He laughed. "Sorry," He said, smiling. "I just wanted to check you were ok…"

"Oh, I'm fine," Hornet assured him. Prosper nodded and turned, starting to make his way to the house. "But I'd be better if you stayed!" She called out hurriedly.

Prosper turned back around, an odd look on his face. "Did I hear you right?" He asked.

Hornet shrugged. "Depends…" She reasoned. "If you heard me say 'I'd be better if you stayed!' you'd have heard me right,"

A bench was placed by the bush, as Ida liked to sit there in the summer. Hornet sat down and motioned Prosper to join her. He hesitantly sat down; he felt suddenly nervous.

"Its really beautiful," Hornet breathed, looking down the garden.

"Yeah…Yeah, it is," Prosper agreed, but his eyes weren't on the garden; they were on the girl sat next to him. Hornet turned to look at him and blushed when their eyes met.

She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You know what Prop?" She muttered. "I think we would make a pretty good couple."

"You know what, Hornet?" Prosper replied, lifting Hornet's head so they were facing each other. "I know we would," He smiled. "In fact…I know we will,"

"Eurgh!" Riccio's voice came from behind them. The two turned to see him half hidden behind a large leafy bush-like plant. He went scarlet when he saw them glaring at him. "Pay no attention to the boy behind the bush!"

"Riccio? Have you been spying on us?" Hornet asked menacingly. "Well, if you thought that was disgusting…" She gently kissed Prosper, making sure Riccio was in full sight of it.

"Aw, c'mon guys!" Riccio squealed. "I don't wanna have nightmares!"

Prosper grinned. "I suggest you run away then!" He said and kissed Hornet back.

So, as usual, our story ends with a kiss. But, not as usual, it ends with a squealing boy running away to find Ida and complain Prosper and Hornet are being icky down by the rose bush.

_**THE END**_


End file.
